Sand and Clay
by Luciana Costa
Summary: It's okay to be in love with your partner. But it's a different situation if you fall in love with the guy you're supposed to assassinate. DeidaraXoc, GaaraXoc, sasunaru. possible yaoi in later chapters, M rating just in case.
1. Over the Sand

Kiku-chan: Hi people! This is our first fanfic!

Kuro: Did you have to tell them that?

Kiku-chan: yes I did -throws rotten granola bar at Kuro-

Kuro: -burns granola bar- Anyways, like she said, this is our first fanfic, and it's an OC.

Kiku-chan: yesh ocs are cool. especially since nobody ever pairs dei-chan up with any girls. its always either sasori, tobi, or some other non-akatsuki guy. i don't approve of shonen-ai, and especially don't approve of yaoi. -gives kuro a disapproving glare-

Kuro: thanks for reminding me. yeah, i just can't wait till chapters 4, 5, 6, or 7

Kiku-chan: Kuro loooooves sasunaru yaoi loooooves it -sings- ladedadedum. take that neville! -pokes itachi with wiimote-

Kuro: all right, i'll just leave you in your misery, then. HE should be here soon, kiku, you'd better hide

Kiku-chan: er, who's "HE"?

kuro: you'll just have to wait like everyone else. anyways on to the diclaimer!

**Disclaimer: **Neither Kiku-chan nor I own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto gets that honor.

CHAPTER 1: Over The Sand

They traveled silently through the night, long black cloaks hiding their bodies, with strange looking red clouds on them. Every time they jumped, they moved some twenty or thirty feet, not slowed down even a bit by the dry sand of the even drier desert. They kept quiet, not murmuring a word about the chill in the night air, especially in the winter time. They had snuck away quietly, under Pein's nose and the orders of Sasori, to accomplish a secret mission. They were Akatsuki.

Kikue was in the lead, her unmanageable, short, silver hair flowing softly out behind her. Through her long Akatsuki cloak, a few traces of her silver kimono could be seen, though it was not in very good condition. She had big, brown eyes, equivalent to those of a small puppy. Overall, she was an average 16 year old, reaching a total height of 5' 6", forming the youngest member of the Akatsuki. Behind her followed her best friend since the age of 10 years old, Deidara.

Deidara was as quiet as her, but had nothing particular on his mind. He was aware that he was getting closer and closer to the city of the Kazekage, Suna. But it didn't bother him at all, because, to the Akatsuki, without his Jinchuuriki, the Kazekage, Gaara, was nothing, and had no use to them, what-so-ever. His sand colored hair flew back against his face as he obediently followed Kikue, but he never missed a chance to turn and glance in her direction, noticing her fine features.

The ever present wind blowing through the desert, quickened, and so did Kikue. It was a while before Deidara noticed, and soon caught up with her, himself. The silence was annoying him right then, after all, he liked noise. Loud noise. "Hey! Kikue-chan! Where are we going again?" He had asked just for the sake of hearing her voice. In actuality, he had memorized their plan down to the smallest detail.

"We are going to the Temple of the Poison God. It's ancient, probably deserted. But to find the room we are looking for, we must search carefully. The temple will most likely be filled with traps. Sasori-sama himself needs it, and apparently, it's the strongest poison in he world, killing whoever touches it in an instant. He needs it for special use." Kikue's silky voice whispered. "And before you ask, no, I do not know why he would possibly need it. Also, please refrain from calling me 'Kikue-chan' ever again." During the last few words, her voice had a sharp steel edge to it. Kikue definitely meant what she said. But, Deidara definitely saw a small smile spread across her face.

"Yeah, yeah, sure...Exactly why are we doing this for Sasori? Why can't he just get it himself, if it's so dangerous and useful?"

"He's still recovering from the battle after you had captured the Kazekage. He nearly died, you know!" Her sentence ended in a way that meant that she didn't want to talk anymore. But the silence didn't last long, for she saw something that disturbed her. Over the horizon, past the millions of sand dunes, there were three growing figures, still tiny in the distance. "Deidara-_san_," she paused, and Deidara flinched. "Who are those people? They look like ninja."

Deidara turned to look towards the horizon and his eyes widened for no longer than a second. Kikue had now stopped completely, and so did Deidara. "Crap! Why does it have to be them?" Kikue turned to look at him with questioning eyes. "The copy ninja, Hatake Kakashi. He's the one who cut off my left arm, the one that you had to heal. His student, the Kyuubi brat, Naruto, I think. He was supposed to be my prize, the nine-tailed Jinchuuriki. And the pink-haired girl...ugh. What a whore. She doesn't look like much, but is a medic-nin and is the student of the Hokage, Tsunade. I think her name is Sakura, and she is the one that nearly killed '_Sasori-sama._' They are all greatly skilled Konoha ninja. It's best we avoid them for now...Shall I?" Deidara stepped forward, his hand reaching into his clay pouch to pull out some clay.

"Hold on, Hatake Kakashi, you said?" Deidara nodded to her question, but listened to her commanding voice. "Lets go say hello, shall we, Deidara?" Her voice was emotionless, and Kikue just started to walk towards the now clear figures. They were all in plain sight of each other, coming to meet about 40 feet apart. Recognition flared through all of them, including Kikue, and for a while, all was silent, even the loud Naruto. Kakashi was staring at Kikue, recognizing her as a 10 year old he had once met, on a trip to Suna. To him, she had seemed innocent enough, but he was mistaken, it seemed. A few more moments passed, and a sudden outburst from the #1 most unpredictable ninja in Konoha brought them all back to reality.

"YOU!!!" Naruto yelled, pointing at Deidara. Anger filled up inside of him, but surprisingly, he had kept it under control. Sakura was looking at Deidara too, both her and Naruto ready to attack at any moments notice. Deidara was prepared too. Except, Kakashi and Kikue kept on staring at each other.

"Well, I guess I was wrong when I judged you, Kikue-san. I truly thought that you were a good person." Kakashi voiced.

"Kakashi-san, judging is too easy, but can be very misleading. I trust you will not make the same mistake again?" replied Kikue. "It was nice to see you again. But, my friend and I here really must be on our way." She bowed, giving Deidara the signal to use his clay creation. Team Kakashi was confused for a second, but that was all they needed to get away. The bomb exploded, and when the smoke cleared, Kikue and Deidara were gone.

Kiku-chan: Well thats the first chapter for now. -_poof!!!_- What the --?

Kuro: Ah, you're here. that was fast. and, it was kiku-chan.

Kiku-chan: whats itachi doing here?

Kuro: I invited him

Kiku-chan: Why? -runs off to hide-

Itachi: -glares at Kiku- why did you poke me?

Kiku-chan: -throws granola bar at itachi to distract him, calls up dei on cell phone, then runs-

Itachi: i'll get her back

Kuro: yay! first chapter of first fanfic is done! like it, hate it? review please, and flame if you want to, but do it to kiku. the next chapter has sasuke and gaara, and it should be up by the 20th. Ja nee!


	2. Different Points of View

Kuro: I am so sorry it took me this long to finish writing this chapter! So on to the disclaimer and the story!

Kiku: cookies are yum –munches cookie-

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto. That honor goes to the great Kishimoto-sama…

Naruto's POV

By the time the smoke from the mini bomb had cleared, Deidara and Kikue had disappeared, leaving a baffled Naruto in their wake. He was angry. Very angry. But, over the years he had spent with Jiraiya, he had learned to control his anger. A bit. Naruto jumped up on his feet and started looking for a trail, any that could lead to which way they small Akatsuki group had gone, but to no avail…Naruto could feel his anger rising, and had a small battle with the Kyuubi in his mind on weather or not to let him out. The Kyuubi's senses were much stronger than his. But, he had decided against it, and the Kyuubi definitely couldn't change his mind.

Naruto was about to charge off into some random direction that may have seemed likely to have had the Akatsuki group travel it, when he was softly interrupted by Sakura. She tapped him on his shoulder, a strained look on her face, behind which she was hiding, surely. Mentally, Naruto hit himself on the head, for he had forgotten that Sakura and Kakashi were even with him. "What, Sakura-chan?" he asked in a light tone, meaning no offense.

"Naruto…Should we really look for them? I mean, that wasn't part of our mission. And shishou would get very mad…" Sakura had removed her hand from his shoulder, and turned to look towards their sensei, Kakashi. Naruto could tell that she wanted to go look for them just as much as he did, maybe even more, if that was possible.

"Sakura-chan, you know what they did…To Gaara…To Sasuke…"

"I understand Sasuke's wasn't their fault."

"It might as well have been." Naruto grumbled under his breath. Sakura heard him, he was aware of that, but neither said anything.

"We don't know which way they went." She whispered.

"Kyuubi can find it." Naruto saw Sakura's eyes widen, but only for a flickering moment. He would have missed it if he wasn't staring at her, intently. She had just about given in. And after her, Kakashi would be a piece of cake.

"I don't know, Naruto…Let's ask Kakashi-sensei." Naruto groaned. Kakashi was only a piece of cake if Sakura was on his side. She could be very persuasive. But Sakura broke into his thoughts. "Kakashi-sensei…What should we do?" Her voice quivered.

Nearby, Kakashi was staring off into space. Naruto wasn't even sure he had heard her. Except, of course, when he spoke. "Hmm…I think Naruto's right…" Naruto and Sakura both gasped, and if Kakashi had heard, Naruto was sure he had ignored it. "Even though we normally don't do this…I think we should follow them. I have already found their trail, though, it was pretty hard. They know how to hide their scent well…" Kakashi seemed extremely distant. Like he was thinking about something important. Something important that he wanted neither Naruto, nor Sakura to know.

"They've headed north-west. Let's go." And with that, he was off, leaving Naruto and Sakura behind. _Well he seems to be in a hurry, _Naruto thought to himself before closely following, with Sakura quick at his heels.

Sakura's POV

Sakura was deep in her own thoughts; she had been the whole time. During their whole mission, at least once every fifteen minutes, she would turn and look towards Naruto, remembering what it was like when they were thirteen years old, when Team 7 still existed and was complete. It worried her. Naruto, her Naruto had changed immensely, and that scared her. He was like her brother after all. She wondered why she had been so interested in following the new and, at the same time, not so new team that she had encountered. It had just seemed like there was more of a point than old enemies meeting up again.

Sakura remembered seeing them for the first time clearly, though Deidara was not a first. At that same moment, her last vision of Sasuke slipped through her head: him leaving the village while she was in tears. She had also remembered the small back of a younger Naruto, the one that had waved her goodbye after promising to bring back Sasuke.

She didn't know why, but she suddenly had a feeling that things were going to go terribly wrong. And Sakura's gut feelings, when she actually listened to them, were very strong.

In truth, something bad _was_ approaching. Something terribly bad…

Kakashi's POV

Like Sakura, Kakashi was deeply absorbed in his thoughts too. But, he was not having bad feelings about a horrifying future. He was more worried about what he would find when they met Kikue and Deidara again. Deidara would want to fight, he knew that. But, Kakashi also knew that Kikue was different. Smaller, less out spoken, and surely calmer, but definitely different.

Kakashi felt that he had seen her before…she seemed so familiar. Those dark brown eyes, and the striking silver hair, a lot like his: definitely familiar. And so was her name…Where had he heard it before? His millions of yet unnamed questions roamed his mind, until Kakashi finally came to a solution that was correct. Or at least, it would have to do for now.

Suna was close by, and not long before they had left, Kakashi had sent a message for the eyes of the Kazekage and his siblings only. They would be able to find their trail soon enough. Kakashi had something that he had to discuss with the sand siblings, for surely, they would know.

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While they were all not paying any attention to their path, but were each reserved in their thoughts, Team Kakashi had caught up with the small Akatsuki team. Or at, least, they were not far off, maybe a league or so.

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Kikue's POV

"We are nearly there, Kikue-_san_. We can stop and rest easy right now, nee?" Mentally, Kikue winced when he called her by "san". He seemed so cold, and there had been a sharp edge to Deidara's voice. She wondered, as soon as they had stopped what was up with him this time. He seemed to be very distant lately, not to mention moody. But then again, he seemed to get like that a lot lately, especially around her. What had she said now?

It was very late, but both were hungry, because they hadn't eaten since lunch. Dinner was a quick affair, as it usually was with shinobi. It was also extremely silent. It was the kind of awkward silence that hung in the air, and no one seemed to be able to say anything meaningful. They had mochi and leftover takoyaki for dinner, but it didn't fill either of them up much, since there was little for the both of them. Kikue hoped that at the temple there would be at least a bit of food that wasn't rotten, even if it was ramen. And that was saying a lot, seeming that she hated ramen.

It had barely been twenty minutes since they had started resting, but Deidara was up again, his things all packed up. He waited for Kikue to finish with her things, but she just stared up at him, blankly. "What is wrong with you?" she asked her voice hard.

Kikue truly wanted to know, but Deidara mistook the tone of her voice and got even more reserved. "Nothing is wrong. Lets go, time is running out." With that he turned. Kikue knew he had nothing more to say to her. Deidara was usually cheery, but when he got mad, it was like trying to talk to a brick wall when trying to find out the cause of his anger.

"Hold on…Let me scour the area first…It's better to be prepared…" Without waiting for a response, Kikue took out a knife and cut her finger, the thumb of her right hand. She would have bit into her finger, but her skin was extremely stubborn, and refused to be cut by the small pressure of sharp teeth. A few drops of bright red blood flowed from the tip of her thumb.

In the air, using only her thumb, and the blood from it, Kikue drew two bright red kanji. They were the kanji for the word search, sousaku. After she finished, Kikue quickly brought her hands in front of her and created the seals for the tiger, the rat, and the horse. It worked. Kikue could tell from the burning in her blood, for that was her proof. But the jutsu was more effective than she had hoped it to be.

A couple of leagues ahead, she could sense the temple, and the strong chakra lingering there. Her blood tasted it, and was shocked. The shock hurt her, but Kikue looked past that and searched for its owners. She could tell that there was more than just one person there; it was more like small 3-man-cell. Satisfied, Kikue let go of the chakra that controlled her blood, and was brought back to reality.

"There are three people with really strong chakra there…but other than that, it looks abandoned. This is going to be easier than I thought it would be." She half whispered, but Deidara had heard her. He nodded.

"Let's go…" he said once again, seeming very impatient. And they were running at full speed this time.

Kikue's chakra had been really strong, but she had forgotten to direct it all around them. If she had paid attention, she would have noticed more visible and just about equally strong chakra closer to her than the temple.

Sasuke's POV

His mind was wandering, not searching for anything particular, just something interesting. He himself wandered one of the many secret pathways in the temple from which both the Akatsuki group and his previous teammates were not that far away from. They had settled there a few days ago, and would probably move pretty soon…They never stayed in a single place for more than a week. It seemed pointless and tiring to Sasuke, but Orochimaru had made it very clear that he did not need Sasuke's opinio0n on the moves.

The passage that he walked down was fairly small, and he could barely stand up straight. He had discovered it one night when Orochimaru had dismissed him earlier than usual from his lessons, and he had nothing better to do. Sasuke was glad that no one else knew the location of the passage: he liked being alone sometimes.

Over the past few days, Sasuke had figured out that the passage lead to anywhere and everywhere within the temple walls, and some secret rooms that had previously gone unnoticed even by the priests that had previously lived there. But, there was, of course, one door that he couldn't go past for it was sealed. Even his new and powerful jutsu could not destroy it, or even put a scratch on it. Sasuke was wandering in the direction of the sealed door when he heard the slight noise that was Orochimaru speaking. The entrance way to his left was, like the others, empty. But, he could still hear the black haired sannin as if he was standing right next to him. Sasuke shivered.

"What happened, Kabuto? Why is it that you had to come see me so bad? Was it perhaps that you missed me a lot?" Orochimaru's snake-like voice hissed in the air around Sasuke.

"There are enemies heading this way…Two people from the Akatsuki, and six other shinobi that I haven't identified yet." Kabuto replied in a calculating voice.

"Is that so? Who of the Akatsuki, then? And their purpose?"

"Two people that weren't there before you quit…they must be new, and they look pretty young. But they have strong chakra. At least the silver-haired girl does…" Kabuto paused, and took in a deep breath. "I doubt they know we're here, so there must be something else here that they want. The other six seem to be in pursuit of them for reasons unknown to me."

"Hmm…Well, I think we should give our guests a warm welcome. I presume the Akatsuki kids will be here within the next couple of hours, right?"

And then, both Orochimaru and Kabuto stopped talking. The silence was sudden to Sasuke, but he was used to it around the two of them. He moved on. Their conversation lingered on his mind: maybe, just maybe, he could get to them before Orochimaru finished with them. Sasuke completely forgot about the other six shinobi that were also coming to the temple, and wondered how he would get one of them alone for long enough to question them.

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Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi were closing in on Deidara and Kikue. Their group knew that. But they were still trying to figure out the reason why they were heading away from them and towards a seemingly deserted temple…What could they possibly expect from inside there?

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Kuro: I'm so glad that I'm finally done with this chapter. It took me so long to write it! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it, and please review and rate. As always, any flames should be directed at Kiku-chan, not me, because she came up with the idea of this story. Also, no promises on when we'll update next, but it should be within the month!

Kiku: Hey! –throws stale granola bars at potential flamers- Back off!


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